The
history of science teaches that the greatest advances in the
scientific domain have been achieved by bold thinkers who perceived
new and fruitful approaches that others failed to notice. If
one had taken the ideas of these scientific geniuses who have
been the promoters of modern science and submitted them to committees
of specialists, there is no doubt that the latter would have
viewed them as extravagant and would have discarded them for
the very reason of their originality and profundity. As
a matter of fact, the battles waged, for example by Fresnel and
by Pasteur suffice to prove that some of these pioneers ran into
a lack of understanding from the side of eminent scholars which
they had to fight with vigor before emerging as the winners.
More recently, in the domain of theoretical physics, of
which I can speak with knowledge, the magnificent novel conceptions
of Lorentz and Planck, and particularly Einstein also clashed
with the incomprehension of eminent scientists. The new
ideas here triumphed; but, in proportion as the organization
of research becomes more rigid, the danger increases that new
and fruitful ideas will be unable to develop freely.

Let
us state in a few words the conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing.
While, by the very force of circumstances, research and teaching
are weighted down by administrative structures and financial
concerns and by the heavy armature of strict regulations and
planning, it becomes more indispensable than ever to preserve
the freedom of scientific research and the freedom of initiative
for the original investigators, because these freedoms have always
been and will always remain the most fertile sources for the
grand progress of science.

Nobel Laureate Louis de Broglie, April 25, 1978

Repression of Physicists
in the 21st Century

The electronic preprint archive (arXiv.org), founded
in 1991 at Los Alamos National Laboratories and funded by the
National Science Foundation, was formed as a way for scientists
to rapidly disseminate new discoveries and theoretical developments
to the worldwide scientific community. Its original intent
was to be an open forum for papers authored by credentialed physicists,
i.e., those who consistently had papers approved for publication
in peer refereed journals. Over time the criteria for approval
of submitted papers to the archive became more complicated and
restrictive.

Presently hosted at Cornell University under
the direction of physicist Paul Ginsparg, it blocks certain physicists
from posting their papers to this archive. The arXiv administrators
maintain a list of physicists whom they have blacklisted or ostracized
so that any paper those individuals attempt to submit is systematically
rejected regardless of its scientific content. Usually
these blocked papers have already been accepted for publication
in reputable peer refereed science journals or in other cases
are undergoing review for journal publication which indicates
that these papers are serious and well thought out. The list
of suppressed scientists even includes Nobel Laureates! One
characteristic that these ostracized physicists share in common
is that they have written or published papers in the past which
propose new ideas that challenge traditional physics dogma. In
other cases their published works just happen to run counter
to the particular theory preferences of the small political clique
administering the archive.

Our world is experiencing serious problems
such as exponential population growth, environmental pollution,
impending energy shortages, nuclear proliferation, and climatic
change. We cannot afford to suppress the works of those seminal
minds whose new ideas could revolutionize the way we interact
with the world. What if a paper described the discovery
of a new source of energy that could help to alleviate the coming
energy crisis? Or, what if a paper brought to light a serious
environmental hazard which, if unheeded, would result in a substantial
loss of life. And, what if arXiv.org moderators censored
one such important paper because of a possible personal dislike
of its author or because it conflicted with a theory they personally
favored? Society cannot afford this kind of behavior.

In today's fast changing world it is not enough
just to publish one's ideas in scientific journals, a process
that can drag on from months to years until approved for publication.
Rapid communication of all plausible new ideas to the academic
community through an easily accessible internet archive is essential
to the progress of science.

The purpose of this site is to alert the public about the blocking
activities being conducted by the Cornell sponsored arXiv.org
administrators and to relate the case histories of those scientists
who have been censored and/or blacklisted. Archive Freedom
advocates that this practice be immediately stopped and that
all scientists be given open uncensored access to this archive
to post their technical papers. We respectfully urge the
administrators at Cornell University, as guardian of the world's
knowledge of physics, to honor the contributions of all serious
scientists.

Click
here for a listing and links to
the accounts of some of these scientists.


The Telesio-Galilei Association and
Academy (http://www.telesio-galilei.com/home.html)
is a collection of scientists from all scientific disciplines
devoted to promoting openness in scientific research and, indeed,
in science as a whole. It hosts an annual ceremony at which Gold
Medals are awarded to notable scientists who have championed
these ideals.